Chapter 89: Guan Yushan

"No," Guan Xinyue said, crying stubbornly, "Don't say goodbye. Even if you are just a part, don't go, stay and keep me company!"

Luo Qi turned his eyes away secretly, unable to bear the scene. He had seen Guan Xinyue cry many times, but only this time was it so tragic; he couldn't help but feel a heaviness in his chest. He could understand Guan Xinyue's persistence; for a lost loved one, even being able to keep a part of them was better than them being completely unreachable.

He lowered his head and heard the old man's voice full of regret, "Xinyue, although this Crystal is a decent energy body, it is only enough to maintain my consciousness for a short while. I will dissipate soon. Besides, death is naturally like this; you should understand. You have grown up, haven't you?"

Guan Xinyue was crying so hard she couldn't speak, and the old man continued, "Seeing these outstanding Mages, I think you have not only grown up but also found your own friends. Otherwise, I truly could not rest easy leaving behind a granddaughter who likes to get to the bottom of things so much. Your Nainai often said that ignorance is bliss, yet you insist on getting to the bottom of everything; being too smart will always add endless troubles."

Luo Qi looked up and saw the old man looking at his granddaughter with helplessness and worry, "When you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazes into you. Do you still remember this sentence?"

Guan Xinyue sobbed and refused to answer. Luo Qi sighed from the side, but the old man's ethereal gaze shifted toward him, and he was startled. The old man continued faintly, "When fighting monsters, take care not to become a monster yourself."

Luo Qi thought of the few small fragments of the old man's consciousness he had swallowed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Even though he knew he hadn't really eaten anything into his stomach, he still felt a bit nauseated.

"My life has reached its end; there is actually nothing to regret. What follows is the business of you young friends," the old man said.

Luo Qi hurriedly looked up again. The old man smiled kindly and carefully examined each of them one by one. "I want to express gratitude on behalf of Guan Yushan for your care of Xinyue. This Storage Crystal records some of my work data; I hope you can pass it on to Peishu Fashi of Qionglin on my behalf."

"I will," Du Zhengyi said.

The old man looked at Guan Xinyue again, "Most of my work data is encrypted. The key is in Guan Xinyue's hands, though she herself does not know what the key actually is. So, please, when you hand the Crystal to Pei Shu, send Guan Xinyue along with it; she will certainly be of help to the Qionglin Calculator's decryption."

Luo Qi suddenly realized that this was actually a protective lock the old man had added for his granddaughter. Perhaps he thought that the person who would come to find Guan Xinyue and receive the Crystal in the future would be Pei Shu, which was why he had attacked the strange Mage who opened the Storage Crystal in the Consciousness World. Using a thought fragment with active thinking capabilities as a lock for the Crystal, while appearing slightly cruel, was truly effective. This was actually a high-intelligence lock; although its default behavior was to attack Mages other than Pei Shu, once it saw its granddaughter's consciousness was safe and stable, this lock immediately made a higher-level decision.

He pondered and blurted out, "Guan Fashi, do you work for Great Mage Pei Shu?"

The old man's smile deepened, "I have worked for him for nearly a century."

Just as Du Zhengyi was about to speak, Luo Qi suddenly added another thoughtless sentence, "When you were waiting in the Crystal, didn't you feel lonely? The time in there seems to be different from the outside world?"

The old man smiled, "I do not possess that part of the consciousness. Those things that would produce negative emotions, as well as many spiritual parts that make a person human, I did not preserve."

Luo Qi opened his mouth, realizing he had nothing left to ask. He glanced at Guan Xinyue; she had clearly heard it too, and although she was still crying, her attachment to this phantom Guan Yushan seemed to have lessened significantly.

Du Zhengyi glared at the babbling Luo Qi and continued what he was about to say, "Pei Shu is currently in seclusion. I am his student, sent out by him to work in his stead."

The old man showed a look of realization and nodded slightly at Du Zhengyi. "The Crystal stores some information I tracked down regarding the Lotus Burners, but unfortunately, I did not have time to record and organize much of it."

"Do you mean that the true culprits behind the Lu Jinfeng Case and the Guan Ya case are all Lotus Burners?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"I have found some evidence, but the chain of evidence is far from complete. I will not draw a conclusion here," the old man said steadily. "I said, what follows is the business of you young people."

Du Zhengyi nodded to show he understood.

Guan Xinyue seized the time to say, "Grandpa, you probably don't know about Lu Xinchen's disappearance, right?"

"Lu Xinchen has disappeared?" the old man asked with slight sorrow.

"Yes," Guan Xinyue said. Now she could also see that this person was not her grandfather; he lacked many parts. Only now did she understand that her grandfather's flaws—his inability to fully control his irritability, anger, and extreme emotional swings—which she had found annoying at the time, were actually the most precious, real, and vivid parts of him when she thought about it now.

"Guan Fashi," Luo Qi could no longer hold back from the side and asked, "Is Lu Xinchen also a Telepath?"

"Yes," the Old Mage nodded and said.

Luo Qi gasped, "Then why didn't you report her identity?"

The Old Mage pondered for a while, showing a confused expression for the first time, as if this part of his consciousness was broken. Luo Qi speculated that the real Guan Yushan must not have recorded this memory in detail. Finally, the Old Mage stated the result of his pondering, "Pei Shu knows."

"Who would want to use Lu Xinchen?" Luo Qi couldn't find the answer and said impatiently, "Telepaths are scarce, but to be honest, there are actually quite a few of them; they wouldn't lack people to work for them. It's also unlikely that Lu Xinchen would work for the people who killed her parents and grandfather. So what exactly did they take Lu Xinchen for? What secret could a child like Lu Xinchen possibly know? She hasn't even reached adulthood, and hasn't even started university yet!"

"I don't know," the Old Mage finally said helplessly.

Luo Qi shrank back in frustration and muttered, "Maybe we can find some traces in the decrypted files."

"Perhaps," the Old Mage said, his loving gaze turning to his granddaughter once again, "Finally, I have one last sentence to tell you on behalf of your real grandfather—blood ties are meaningless. From the first day I held you in my arms when you were a baby, you have been my most beloved granddaughter."

Guan Xinyue looked at him, her eyes filled with tears once again, and she whispered in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, thank you for always loving me, thank you for always being with me."

None of the men spoke again. Guan Xinyue said a lot more and asked many questions until the energy of the Crystal gradually faded.

When Guan Yushan finally disappeared, Du Zhengyi turned his head and saw the tears filling Luo Qi's deer-like eyes at a glance, and he was startled, "Damn, you actually cried along with her?"

Luo Qi glared at him, stood up silently, and walked out alone.

Du Zhengyi looked at his back suspiciously. Mahjong, who had been silent the whole time, chuckled, "Got scratched by the cat he's raising."